Chasing Shadows
by YungChicken
Summary: When a string of linked crimes threatens Zootopia, only the best two officers of the ZPD are assigned to the case: Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. They seem like they're unstoppable together, but this case pulls them deeper into the criminal world than they've ever seen, and soon they find themselves in need of help from a young suspect with a shady background. [Lots of Nick x Judy!]
1. Chapter 1

**Hi all! Th** **is my first time writing fanfiction in three years, so please bear with me! I really appreciate constructive criticism, so if there's anything that needs fixing please let me know. This story is mostly action and crime, but there's also romance in the sense that it is going to ship Nick and Judy a _lot._ Their relationship will develop as a sub-plot, so hang tight!**

 **Hope you all enjoy :)**

* * *

 _3 months after the Night Howler incident_

It was 4 AM, and Judy Hopps was not in her best state. Her ears drooped and her walk lacked its usual pep. She had been startled awake less than ten minutes ago when she received a call from Chief Bogo saying that she was needed at the police office _immediately_ \- she didn't take that word lightly and had rushed to get ready. The chief's voice had sounded urgent, and somehow angrier than usual. Judy refused to admit that Bogo's tone had frightened her, but her fidgeting paws and twitching nose told a different story. With a vigorous rub of her tired eyes, Judy stepped onto bus 8, which was about to make its last nocturnal trip, and sat down.

The rabbit tapped her foot lightly as she watched passengers board the bus. There weren't very many; a majority of the animals in this part of Zootopia, including Judy, woke up with the sun. Judy slumped in her seat and sighed as the bus began to rumble, signalling its departure. In desperate need of something to do, the bunny pulled her phone out of her uniform pocket and went straight to her messages. She tapped the name at the top: Nick Wilde, her furry partner in justice and arguably her best friend. _A_ _wake yet?_ she sent. On second thought, he definitely had to be up - if Chief Bogo had called her, then he had also called Officer Wilde.

Her phone buzzed, and her eyes snapped down to the screen. The text read: _yeah, been up_ _all night. I'm already at the police station waiting for u._

A smile of mischief appeared on Judy's face as she replied: _Aw, waiting for me? That's so sweet!_

Less than five seconds later came Nick's response. _u wish, Carrots. I'm just trying to be polite._

 _Sure you are,_ she texted back.

The phone was silent for a solid thirty seconds. Judy mused what kind of reply could be taking so long for Nick to type. When it finally buzzed, all that read on the screen was _d_ _umb bunny!_

Judy was grinning when the bus jerked to a halt and the doors opened. She hopped out onto the sidewalk and found herself staring up at the looming building that she could very well call her second home: the Zootopia Police Station. A familiar furry figure was leaning against the door frame, sipping on a cup of coffee and resting his eyes on Judy.

"Nick!" she called out happily as she hopped forward to meet him.

"Mornin', Carrots," Nick greeted with a mild smile. He pushed the door open and held it open for his partner to enter.

"Thanks," she said brusquely as she suddenly noticed just how red and bloodshot Nick's eyes were. His uniform was crooked, and his fur was unkempt around his neck and the top of his head. "Nick, you look like a zombie!" she scolded. "Why didn't you sleep last night?" the rabbit demanded when she remembered the text that he had sent her.

Nick shrugged, and he smiled sleepily but content. "We weren't supposed to come in to work till afternoon so I figured I could stay up late," he explained. "That's why I was already awake when Chief called." Judy stared at him with a taut, almost disbelieving look on her face. Nick saw her expression and smiled again. "Speaking of Chief's call, did you get any information on what's going on? Or did he pull you into the station too?" he asked, not expressing a single bit of concern on his face.

Judy nibbled her lip nervously. "He just told me to come straight here. He never said anything other than that. And he sounded pretty angry," she said with her eyebrows knitted together in worriment.

Looking down at his partner, Nick chuckled. "Did he? I didn't notice. Bogo always sounds mad when he's talking to me, anyway," the fox joked. He stole another glance down at Judy, who still looked nervous as she grabbed Nick's paw and began to pull him forward towards the Chief's office. "Hey, Carrots, don't worry. It's not like he's mad at you. He's probably just got something else on his mind," Nick said reassuringly to her with a pat on her shoulder.

Judy let out a deep exhale, as if she had been holding her breath for those exact words. "Thanks...you're right. It's probably just the case that has him worried." She was still holding onto Nick's paw tightly, but she didn't realize it. Judy's pace quickened, but Nick stopped her as he paused in front of the reception desk.

"Clawhauser!" Nick exclaimed with jovial surprise. "What are you doing here so early?" he asked as he saw the cheetah typing away behind his computer. Judy peered up at Clawhauser and gave a small wave, but she kept glancing in the direction of Bogo's office.

Clawhauser looked down at the furry duo. "Hey guys!" he greeted with an exuberant smile. "I, uh... Bogo caught me watching music videos at work so I have to work a double shift to make up for it," he explained bashfully.

Nick laughed, and Judy giggled a little, as well. "That's the Clawhauser we all know and love!" the fox said. He was about to say something else, but he was interrupted by a loud muffled voice.

" _WILDE! HOPPS_ _!"_ came Bogo's thundering voice behind the closed door of his office. Judy's eyes widened. Nick saw, and he ruffled the fur on the top of her head. "Like I said, Judes: don't worry," he said quietly. With a brief glance at Clawhauser, he said, "See ya later, Ben."

Ben waved goodbye and watched Nick and Judy head for Bogo's office. Nick was the one to open the door, but Judy entered first, and her partner followed her inside.

* * *

Chief Bogo was at his desk examining a stack of papers. When he heard the sound of his office door creaking open, he looked up. "Good morning, Chief Bogo," Officer Hopps said formally as she and Wilde sat down across from the water buffalo.

"Morning," he grunted briefly. "I appreciate you two getting here so quickly," Bogo commented as he ran his eyes over a file in his hands. Nick glanced over at Judy, and when she caught his gaze, his eyes seemed to calmly say, _See? Everything's perfectly fine. There's no need to worry_. Judy gave him a small smile and turned her eyes back to Bogo, who was now staring intently at the two officers. "Are either of you two aware of what happened four hours ago in the Rainforest District?"

Nick was the one to respond first. "No, sir." He was perfectly level, but Hopps had grown tense.

Her eyebrows were furrowed, and a quiet tapping came from her foot. Bogo was about to speak, but she suddenly blurted, "What happened? Was it serious? Is anybody hurt?"

Bogo sighed. For a moment, he was silent; then he slid the file in his hands across the table and watched as Officer Wilde caught it and opened it. Hopps stood up in her chair to examine the file alongside Wilde. Inside it were the profile details of a young female jaguar.

"At midnight," the Chief began, "one of the most prominent businessmen in the Rainforest District went missing. Ten minutes after he was reportedly gone, his bungalow was set on fire and almost burned completely. I sent out forensic experts to collect samples around the area where he was last seen, as well as the area surrounding his bungalow. At both scenes, they found mixed DNA samples and could only identify one animal: Adriana Herrera, the female shown in the file I gave you, and-"

He was suddenly cut off by Hopps' exclamation. "So why haven't you arrested her yet?" she demanded.

"I was getting to that," Bogo said sternly. "Essentially, we don't know where Adriana is. We received her identification information less than an hour ago, and right after that, I sent out a couple of other officers to reach her at the address she presumably lives at." Judy and Nick looked down at the file to look down at the details of Adriana's residence. "The only person home was her father, who insisted that she was at a friend's house when we questioned him. But that was all he told us, and he refused to give any more information after that. That's where you two come in: I need you to investigate the whereabouts of Adriana and bring her in for questioning."

"Yes, sir," the two officers replied in unison.

Bogo looked at them and blew air out of his nose in a quiet laugh. Together, the fox and the rabbit made one of the best teams in the entire ZPD. "Anyways," he continued, "we don't have a lot of information on this female, but what you will want to know is that she's a senior at Selva High, and the records say that she was at school yesterday, so we're hoping that _somebody_ knows something about her location - and if you're lucky, you might even catch her at school. You might have to do some deep digging to get details, so don't afraid to use any and all means necessary."

Hopps and Wilde nodded in response.

"Now you might want to be on your way to the school. The day officially begins at eight AM, but you'll want to get there at five AM. That's when a substantial number of students and coaches come in early for pre-school sports practice. Good luck, you two." Bogo gave them a dismissive nod, and with Adriana's file in their hands, they left Bogo's office and set out for Selva High School.

* * *

Judy was driving terribly carefully through the smoky morning fog that was characteristic of the Rainforest District. The road was wide and mostly clear, but she felt like she couldn't trust the fog. If she drove too fast, pedestrians had a chance to get hurt, and that was exactly what she wanted to avoid. Her partner, however, wasn't nearly as focused on being cautious. "Carrots, _come on_!" Nick whined as they drove over a bump in the road and some of his coffee splashed onto his lap. "It won't hurt to drive a little faster!"

"I am _so_ sorry, what was that you said?" Judy said, grinning mischievously at Nick. "Did you say that you want me to drive _slower?_ Well, if you insist..." Judy's foot eased up on the gas pedal, and Nick pulled at his ears as the car began to move at the speed of a sloth.

"Fine," he huffed, "go ahead and drive slower, but don't blame it on me when Adriana Herrera slips right out of our grasp because we couldn't make it to the school in time." Judy frowned at him for a moment, but it was soon replaced by a challenging smirk. Bracing herself, she stomped on the gas pedal. Nick's eyes went wide as he fell backwards in his seat from the force, but when he pushed his police hat back up, there was a sly smile on his face.

They sped through the rest of the route to Selva High. Nick's feet were on the dashboard, and Judy noticed, but she didn't say anything. He turned on the radio and tuned it to a channel playing Gazelle. "So professional," Hopps commented as Nick bobbed his head in time to the music.

Five minutes later, Judy slowed down to pull into the parking lot of Selva High. It was 4:49 AM, and cars in the parking lot were sparse. Hopps and Wilde peered around the lot before parking right outside the school's entrance. Nick pulled the file out from under his seat and opened it. There were plenty of pictures paper-clipped together inside; most of them were selfies of Adriana with her friends. "Looks like she's close with this wolf and this tiger," she said, pointing to the two animals that kept coming up in her photos. "Make note of them," Hopps said to Wilde. The fox pulled out his phone and ran their photos through the facial recognition system installed on all ZPD devices.

"I've got their identities locked down," he replied. Looking back down at the file, he pulled out a picture of Adriana in the middle of a lacrosse match. Her face was narrowed in determination, and her fur was slick with sweat. "And she plays lacrosse. I bet we'll find her here soon for practice."

"What if she's not coming to school today?" Judy asked, her brow furrowed.

"I'm sure she will - after all, what better place to hide than a school?" Nick replied.

"Are you saying that we're not going to find her, even if she is at school?" the rabbit said anxiously.

"I'm saying that _most_ police aren't going to find her, but there's a reason Bogo assigned you and me specifically to this job. Don't you agree, Carrots?" Nick said, flicking at Judy's hat. She flinched and grabbed at her hat, but she also laughed.

"I guess you're right. Do you want to go inside and see if anybody in the front office can help us out?" she asked Wilde.

"Might as well. Let's go!"

Judy yanked the keys out of the ignition and hopped out of the car. Nick made sure the car was locked before stepping out and closing his door. The duo headed for the two front doors, but they heard heavy footsteps behind them and turned around.

A group of four kids was romping through the sidewalk. A tiger, black bear, elephant, and jaguar were all pushing each other in a heavy race to get to the front doors. The jaguar seemed to be leading the race, but then the black bear jumped on her back to pull the hood of her varsity jacket over her head. He pulled the strings of the hood tight so the jaguar's eyes were covered. With a sly grin, the jaguar purposely crashed into the ground with the black bear under her. The tiger and elephant tripped over them, and suddenly they were all in a pile on the ground, laughing breathlessly.

Nick and Judy glanced at each other, partially because these kids were goons, and partially because one of these kids happened to be a jaguar.

The officers watched from around the corner as the teenagers shuffled into standing position. The tiger gave the jaguar his hand so she could pull herself up, and she began to fix her hood. The jaguar hooked her arm around the tiger and turned her head up to whisper something to the tall cat, but she jolted to a stop as soon as she caught sight of bright red fur out of the corner of her eye.

The jaguar peered cautiously down and was stunned to see a fox and rabbit looking straight up at her. It wasn't the type of species that alarmed her; it was their shining badges and dark blue uniforms that made her heart skip a beat.

" _Whoa!_ " The black bear suddenly exclaimed. "You're Officer Hopps and Wilde! You're, like, _legends_ ," he whispered with awestruck light in his eyes.

The jaguar rolled her eyes, but she was amused. "Jasper," she began with a heavy Argentinian accent, "give the two some space, will you?"

"Sorry," he whispered as he stepped back. Judy Hopps gave the bear a smile, and he smiled back, revealing his huge, pristine white teeth.

Hopps turned her gaze to the rest of the animals. "Good morning. We're here on the account of investigation of a serious criminal offense committed earlier tonight. The suspect in question is Adriana Herrera; would any of you happen to know where she is, has been, or will be?"

All of their eyes widened in response.

"Adriana?" the jaguar asked. Her voice cracked as she frantically asked, "What did she do? Is she all right?"

"That information is to be withheld," Hopps said firmly. Beside her, Nick's eyebrows furrowed. The fox thought he sensed something suspicious about this female, but he had nothing solid to say about it. "Do you know anything about Adriana Herrera?" the rabbit pressed.

The jaguar's eyes dropped to the ground. "Yeah, she's one of my friends... I - I played lacrosse with her last season, and I know she's still playing it. She's the kind of person that would be on the field already for practice."

Officer Hopps cleared her throat. "Do you think you could let us know where the field is?"

"Yes," she said with pursed lips and a voice heavy with emotion. "Go in through these main doors and once you reach the very end of the main hall, take a right and the doors will take you right to the turf."

"Thank you," the rabbit replied steadily. "Can I get your name in case we should ever meet again?"

With a swallow, the jaguar nodded. "I am Sofia Valencia. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise," Hopps said cordially, smiling. Wilde narrowed his eyes at Sofia for a brief second, but his partner put her hand on his shoulder and steered him toward the field.

The jaguar paused for a quick moment, then she hesitantly called out, "Wait!" The two officers turned around to stare at her. "Tell me you won't hurt Adriana."

Hopps gave her a gentle smile. "Don't worry, Sofia. Our duty is to protect, not to harm." And with that, she and Wilde went inside the building.

As soon as the doors closed, the three animals surrounding the jaguar inhaled deeply in astonishment.

"Adriana Suarez Herrera," scolded the black bear next to her, "you are such a _dumbass_!"

"You can't just _lie_ to the police like that," exclaimed the elephant.

"Adriana, whatever the hell that just was, I don't think it was a smart move," said the tiger in a low voice. "You just pretended to be somebody you barely even know. Isn't that identity theft? Why would you do that?"

The jaguar was watching the three animals coyly as she held a cell phone to her ear. "I would like to argue that it _was_ a smart move, because I just bought myself time to call backup."

"Backup?" Snorted the elephant. "Who would that be?"

Adriana grinned. "Big brother."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading. I hope you all enjoyed! Next chapter will probably be as early as tomorrow or Saturday if you guys can convince me that you reeeeally want it ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all SO much for following, favoriting, and providing feedback. I'm really grateful!**

 **On another note, I decided to add in a little cotton candy at the end of this chapter. Lots of Nick x Judy fluff. Have fun!**

* * *

The two officers walked together through the main hallway of Selva High. It was wide, with shining tiles and a high ceiling. Bulletin boards lined most of the walls. Posters and papers covered each other like a terribly made collage, and the overdose of lurid colors was enough to make any animal's head spin.

Judy ran her bright eyes across one bulletin board, and a small white poster caught her attention. She came closer to the bulletin board for a better look, but the poster was too high for her to see it properly. With a puff of her chest, the rabbit hopped up and snatched the poster from the wall.

There was a pause. Nick watched Judy, reading her expression intently as she scanned the paper. Her nose crinkled in disgust. "I can't _believe_ ," she muttered.

"What is it?" Nick asked curiously, stepping closer to Judy.

"Look at this!" she exclaimed and waved the paper at him.

Nick held the paper still while it was still in Judy's paws. Upon a close look, he saw that it was a picture of a jaguar with a beaming smile. Under the jaguar was a faded blue caption: _Vote Adriana Herrera for class president!_

"Can you believe it?" Judy asked incredulously, letting go of the paper when Nick tugged on it. "Our suspect is running for class president."

Nick shrugged. "Anyone can have dreams, darling. Even criminals."

When Judy's eyes fell upon him, her expression softened. "Yeah," she said quietly, "I guess you're right." She watched him woefully while he began to absentmindedly peel at the letters on the paper.

Suddenly, he looked up to meet her gaze, and she instantly looked away. Nick raised his eyebrows at her strange behavior. Judy's head hung low as she dug her heel into the floor, refusing to look up at the fox.

For only a moment, there was nothing but heavy silence between them. Sensing Judy's discomfort, Nick jumped at a chance to speak. "Was it something I said?" He asked her with a small laugh. His voice was calm, but concern was present in his watchful eyes as he anticipated her reply.

The rabbit let out a deep sigh. "Yes… Well, no. I don't know. But I just," she paused, "feel like I was being dumb when I thought it was stupid that Adriana is running for class president. I mean, she _is_ just a kid, after all." Judy lowered her eyes to the paper in Nick's paws. The smile on Adriana's face looked truly happy. Sincere, even.

"Aw, don't worry about it, Carrots," Nick replied thoughtfully. "Just because she's running for class president doesn't automatically make her an innocent animal."

Judy frowned with worry. She wanted to bite her tongue, but the words came tumbling out of her mouth without her control. "Nick, what if she _is_ innocent?"

Now it was _his_ turn to frown. "If she was innocent, then justice would save her - but what led you to that conclusion, Carrots?"

"I don't know. Those kids back there, when we questioned them, they all seemed so surprised when we took Adriana's name," Judy explained with wide eyes. "And the jaguar—what was her name, Sofia?—something felt off about the way she spoke about our suspect. When I looked back at her I felt…guilty. I felt like _we're_ the ones who did something wrong."

Nick's face fell. "Really, Hopps? 'Cause I wanted to tell you that I felt something off about Sofia, too."

"Really?" she asked. She squinted at Nick in a feeble attempt to read his expression. It was impossible to tell what was on his mind, or what he was going to say next. It was _always_ impossible with Nick, and that secretly frustrated Judy. They had shared countless moments where Judy was at a complete loss of words or actions because she could never tell what was going on with that fox under his calm and cool composure. She didn't know if he was aware of the way he made her feel. It was so incredibly agonizing.

"Yes, really," came Nick's sudden voice. Judy realized her eyes had narrowed while she was looking at her partner, so she took a deep breath to disperse her tension as Nick began to explain. "I think that everything Sofia said was all an act. It sounded to me like she was lying. And you know what else was really strange? I _saw_ with my own eyes that Sofia had the same marking pattern that we saw in the photos of Adriana. And the tiger that she was next to? I think that was the same guy we saw in the pictures!" he whispered to her.

Judy's jaw dropped. "Are you _serious_?"

"One-hundred percent," Nick confirmed dutifully. "I'm serious."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?!" Judy exclaimed with her eyebrows raised in complete astonishment.

"Am I probably right?" Nick asked in response, tactfully dodging her question. "Yes, I think so."

"Nick, look," Judy replied, "I trust you completely, but I just don't know if I can believe what you just said."

"Fine, don't believe me! But when the truth comes out, you'll know who called it first," he said indignantly.

"I'll keep that in mind, Sherlock," Judy quipped. "Until the 'truth comes out,' what do you suppose we should do about the case? Should we go back and find Sofia?"

"No." Judy looked at him expectantly. "We should go to the lacrosse field and see if we can get answers from people that hopefully aren't as shady as Sofia," he elaborated.

"Then let's get going!" the rabbit replied. She didn't bother to look back at Nick before she started jogging down the hall.

Nick called after her, "Wait for me!" He sprinted after her, but being able to catch up to a determined Judy Hopps was unheard of.

Looking over her shoulder, she yelled, "Are you a fox, or a snail?"

"I'm a fox!" he wheezed as he felt the strength in his legs beginning to give out. He had no choice but to stop and double over to catch his breath.

Judy halted when she heard Nick wheezing and panting heavily. She turned around, and seeing him bent over with his paws on his knees gave her a great rush of satisfaction. Nick looked up at her breathlessly, and Judy put her hands on her hips. "I'm having a little trouble believing that you're _actually_ a predator; I think I'm going to have to see you prove yourself as a fox."

Nick's eyes narrowed. "Is that a challenge?" His voice was slow but spirited.

In response, Judy turned around and wiggled her cottonball tail at him before skipping off through the hall.

He smiled slyly. If there was anything he loved, it was a good challenge, even if that meant chasing a rabbit through a high school. Nick looked ahead to see Judy skipping at a rather leisurely pace, but her ears were twitching as she tried to pick up the sounds of his footsteps.

The fox began to tiptoe after her. It wasn't hard to match Judy's pace, but Nick slipped up by letting his claws clack against the floor tiles. Judy, with her keen hearing, jumped at the sound of his feet.

Nick cursed as Judy glanced briefly over her shoulder, only to giggle and run away. With a groan, he jogged after her. This time, he was prepared and his legs carried him far faster than they had before.

They quickly approached the end of the hall. Judy was the first to turn right, but the turn caught her off guard. She dug her feet into the ground to slow down. Nick grinned and dived at her as she turned the corner.

She squealed as he pounced on her and brought her to the floor. "Nick!" Judy screamed as he ran his paws across her rib cage to tickle her. Her purple eyes narrowed with laughter as she feebly attempted to swat Nick away from her. When she regained her pushed him off of her.

They both sat up. Nick's green eyes were gleaming with delight. "So," he said, "what do you think? Am I a fox, or what?"

"I think _or what_ ," Judy stated as she stood up and brushed herself off. Her expression was imposing, but the corners of her mouth hinted at a smile.

"Oh, really?" he replied. Without warning, Nick lunged for her foot and yanked it toward him, effectively throwing her down to the floor again. The red-furred fox pulled her closer and laid down on his stomach. He placed his elbows on Judy's stomach and rested his head in his hands. She glared at him while trying to ignore the fact that he was considerably heavy and easily pinned her down. "You are so... _precious_ when you're mad, you know that?" Nick cooed with a gaze focused dreamily on Judy.

She huffed. "You were about to say cute, weren't you?"

Nick genuinely looked taken aback. "Out of all the words I could have used to describe you, do you really think I would settle for a word as lifeless as _cute_? I don't think that a word like that does you justice," he said, tapping her on the nose and watching as a faint blush spread across her cheeks. Judy seemed frozen, so he kept talking. "You're funny, brave, and _beautiful_...and on top of that, a very clever bunny." The dreamy look in his green gaze dissolved as he noticed Judy's blush getting redder than a ripe strawberry. Did he embarrass her? He had only been speaking the truth. Nick stood up and gave Judy his hand so she could stand up. She gingerly took Nick's paw, and she was quick to notice how warm his paw felt on hers as he pulled her up off the ground. "Y'know, I really could go on and on all day about all the wonderful words I could use to describe my favorite rabbit, but I don't think we have time for that right now." Nick began to saunter toward the doors that led to the high school lacrosse field, leaving Judy a couple of feet behind him. Looking over at Judy, who stood awkwardly in place, he added, "After all, we still have a case to solve."

* * *

 **Omg did Nick actually just confess that he finds Judy hot**

 **Lol, anyways, to be honest, that was my first time writing fluff and I'm hoping it's not too bad! Please leave feedback if you have anything to say about it! I promise I'll work on improving romance and cute stuff in later chapters. The next chapter will be out in around three days and will focus heavily on the plot; Adriana and our favorite pair of cops will be meeting again!**

 **Thanks for reading (:**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey all! I've been thinking about creating a collaboration for a second Zootopia fanfic, where another author and I could work jointly on a story because I want to continue writing about the world of Zootopia but I have _no_ idea what the common masses want to see, haha. So if any of you have fanfic ideas that you want to bring into fruition, PM me!**

 **On that note, here's chapter 3 (:**

* * *

 _"Axel Herrera is currently currently available. At the tone, please leave a—"_

With a huff, Adriana ended her second attempted call to her older brother, Axel. He usually picked up the first time around, even if he was busy. Why now, of _all_ possible times, did he have to be unavailable?

Deciding to try once more, she tapped " _try call again_ " and waited.

On the other end of the unanswered call was a female cheetah sitting on Axel's bed. She was undressed from the night before, and she was _very_ angry at the fact that some other female was calling Axel in the early hours of the morning.

"Who is this _Adriana_ bitch _?_ Why won't she stop calling?" the she-cheetah yelled at Axel, who was only half-awake and staring at her blankly.

"Adriana is my little sister," he muttered with indifference.

"Oh, really?" she hissed. "Well, why don't I answer your 'little sister' and ask her why she's calling you at 5 in the morning?"

Axel shrugged. "Okay."

Shooting him a nasty look, the cheetah opened the call and put the phone to her ear. "Hi, Adriana. Did you want to speak to your boyfriend Axel?"

A snicker came from the other end of the line. "My _boyfriend_? No, ma'am. I want to speak to my _brother_ Axel," Adriana corrected.

The cheetah sneered at the male jaguar in front of her. "I can't believe this," she chided while waving the phone about. "You're seeing another girl behind my back _and_ you set up a sibling act to try and fool me? I can't believe this!" she repeated.

Axel rolled his eyes. Quickly leaning forward, he plucked the phone from the female's delicate paw. She gasped incredulously as he put the phone to his ear. "Hey, kiddo," he spoke into the mic, "I need you to stay on hold for one sec."

"Okay," Adriana said patiently. There was a _thud_ on the other end of the line as Axel put the phone down on his dresser, but he forgot to put the call on mute, and his little sister was able to hear everything he said with perfect clarity.

"Get out of my house," came his strong voice.

" _What?!_ " the cheetah screeched. "You can't just tell me to leave the house!"

"Yes, I can," he said calmly. "This is _my_ property and I want you to get off of it."

The female stared at him speechlessly. She was frozen with astonishment. "You—you can't do that! I'm your girlfriend!" she pleaded unsteadily.

Axel's eyebrow arched. "No…you're not?"

Her jaw dropped. "Axel, we started dating fourteen hours ago and just had sex last night!"

"That doesn't make you my _girlfriend!"_ he exclaimed exasperatedly. _"_ Woman, I don't even know your name!"

With an offended gasp, she stomped her foot hard on the ground. "My name is Giovanni," she said through gritted teeth.

"Okay, _Giovanni_ , get out of my house or I'm calling the police." Axel crossed his arms expectantly.

"I—I don't have my clothes on!" she stammered.

"That is not my problem!" Axel bent down to grab her clothes off the floor. He balled them up and handed them to Giovanni. "Now let's go." Placing his large paws on Giovanni's shoulders, he steered her towards his front door. When she refused to budge, Axel gave her a terse push to get her moving.

"Axel, what is wrong with you!" Giovanni cried out. Her fists were balled up in frustration and her voice held undertones of pleading. She was promptly shoved out the front door. Before Axel could slam the door shut, Giovanni screamed, "We are _OVER!"_

He gave an amused scoff. "That's okay. I have a much more important female to deal with right now. Call me later when you start missing me." Axel grabbed the handle and firmly shut the door.

Giovanni was still standing outside, craning her neck to peer through the window blinds. Axel looked back at her and reached over to twist the blinds shut.

After he bounded back to his room, he snatched his phone from the dresser. "Adriana, you still there?"

"Yes," came the younger female's hesitant voice.

"Tell me what you need." He tapped his claws on the counter as he waited for her answer.

"I...Okay, this is going to sound so _loco_ , but the police are at my school right now and they asked for my name and I kind of lied to them about who I am so right now they're looking for me but they don't know that they're looking for _me_."

It took a second for him to process the words that his little sister had just poured onto him. Suddenly, his mouth fell open and his eyes widened. " _What?!_ Adriana, you're frickin' crazy!"

"Hey, what was I supposed to do?" Adriana said defensively. Her voice took on a tone of anger and she began to vent. "Was I supposed to turn myself in for a crime that happened three YEARS ago? Besides, you promised that you would cover me up and I would never have to worry about the police hunting me down!"

"I know! I went to every length to make sure that nobody would ever find out what you did," he assured her. "Are you absolutely sure that they're looking for you because of _that_ incident?"

She was silent for a moment. "No," she stated reluctantly, "I don't actually know why they asked for me."

"Okay," Axel said carefully. "Wait. Don't tell me that you got into trouble again because if you did, I am coming down there right now and I am going to whoop your-"

"Axel, I didn't do anything!" Adriana pleaded. "I swear! Can't you just come and pick me up or something before the cops find me?"

"No, that would be too obvious. But what I _can_ do is call up my buddy Gomez. He's a detective working for the ZPD, and he can find out what's going on." Axel paused. "Something about all this seems a little off, but we'll have things cleared up. You steer clear of the cops while I figure out what's going on. Capiche?"

"Capiche," Adriana said tersely.

"And stop lying to the cops!" he added sharply.

"Yes, sir," she replied with a roll of the eyes. "But thanks, Axel."

"No problem, kiddo. You stay safe. I'll see ya later."

Adriana said goodbye and closed the call. Leaning back against the wall, she put her face in her paws and exhaled deeply. It was 5:13 AM, and she had to find a way to avoid the cops for the entire school day. What was she supposed to do?

She took a brief peek around the hall. The girls' bathroom was just a short dash away from the corner she stood at; if she ran quickly, hopefully nobody would see her. Biting her lip, Adriana sprinted for the bathroom but was caught by a towering lion wearing gym shorts.

"Adriana!" he called out. The jaguar froze at the sound of his deep voice. "Why aren't you on the lacrosse field? Practice starts in five minutes!" he yelled in between mouthfuls of a chocolate doughnut.

Her heart skipped at the thought of having to practice, but she remained calm on the outside. "Sorry, Coach. I was just headed to the bathroom to get ready right now," she said easily.

"Good. I'm not going to have my team's co-captain miss practice two days before a game! Now get changed and get on that field." He briefly eyed the jaguar, then he turned around and wiped sprinkles off of his mouth as he headed to the lacrosse field.

 _two hours later_

The back of Adriana's neck was still slick with sweat as she stripped out of her lacrosse uniform and back into her school clothes. She glanced at the clock on the wall of the locker room: it was 7:42 AM. There were over fifteen minutes till class started, but the hallways would become packed with kids in only a couple of minutes. It would be easy to squeeze through the crowd and slip right past the cops.

She walked to the door to exit the bathroom, but she stopped when she heard angry voices outside.

 _"._.. _I can't believe she lied to us!"_

 _"We're not going to let it slow us down."_

 _"I'm just so mad! She was RIGHT in our grasp and we let her get away!"_

 _"Don't think about it too much. Let's just keep moving..."_

Adriana's eyes widened. It was the police she had encountered earlier. They were talking about _her_. The worst part? They were right outside the bathroom. Adriana stood frozen, praying to whatever gods there were that they wouldn't happen to come into the girls' bathroom.

A few seconds passed, but the voices were still outside. The cops, by the sounds of their conversation, seemed to be hovering at the door. Adriana shut her eyes. "Please, please, _please_ go away," she muttered hopelessly.

It took a few moments for their voices to slowly fade, but eventually, they were gone. Adriana breathed a sigh of relief and cracked the bathroom door open. She peeked through. Nobody seemed to be standing outside, so she opened the door all the way and hustled out into the hallway.

Her fleeting yellow eyes caught sight of a furry cottonball tail around the corner to the right. Instinctively, Adriana began to run the other way, but she heard a voice yell from behind her, "Hey! Stop right there!" It was one of the cops. The bunny had heard her and was now pulling her tazer gun out of her belt.

Adriana leaped around the corner and ducked into the closest classroom.

When she looked up, she realized she had accidentally sought refuge in none other than her own first period homeroom. Like a deer caught in headlights, she made fearful eye contact with her teacher, Sra. Gonzalez.

"Good morning, Adriana. Is everything all right?" The hippo's eyed her in concern.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine!" Adriana said with breathy cheer. Her teacher's eyes were still trained on her, so she slowly made her way over to her seat and set her things down. Eyeing the clock, she said, "I'm going to go use the bathroom."

"Class is about to start," Sra. Gonzalez responded. "Are you sure you'll make it back in—"

The school-wide intercom suddenly buzzed. _"Adriana Herrera, to the front office immediately, please!"_

Sra. Gonzalez raised one eyebrow. "Sounds like you had better get going."

"Uh... Yeah," Adriana agreed. As if in a stupor, she began to take slow, unsteady steps towards the classroom door. She paused right in front of the exit and hesitated to turn the knob, but it was suddenly kicked open from the other side as an influx of other students entered the classroom.

"Hey, Adriana!" called a female wolf who playfully shoved her in greeting. "I heard you got called to the front office. What'd you do this time?" she asked with a lopsided grin.

All that Adriana could do was muster a smile in response. She quietly stepped out the door and was immediately greeted with a sea of Selva High's inhabitants. Her head hung low as she shuffled her way past the other students. She refused to make eye contact with anyone that she even remotely knew. Everybody had already heard the intercom calling for Adriana's name. Even if they didn't know what she had been called to the front office for, it would definitely look questionable.

A rare feeling of anxiety flooded Adriana as she entered the front office. Her yellow eyes darted around the room but nobody was present except for the receptionist, who sat typing away at her desk. Adriana apprehensively approached the receptionist. "Hi," she said reluctantly. "I was called to the front office?"

The receptionist adjusted her glasses and looked up. "Yes, Adriana?" The jaguar nodded. "Head into the conference room over to the right. We have somebody here to meet you."

"Thanks," Adriana mumbled. She trailed over to the conference room and reluctantly pushed the door open.

As she looked into the room, her heart practically stopped.

There were two familiar animals sitting in the conference room. They both wore eerily placid expressions on their faces that raised the hairs on the back of Adriana's neck.

"Good morning, Adriana," said the rabbit. The fox leaned back and put his legs on the table, continuing, "We're here from the ZPD-but you already know that. Sit down and get comfortable, because we're going to have a nice long chat."

* * *

 **There's chapter 3! Sorry it's so rushed, I just didn't want to leave you guys hanging. Please leave feedback if you can, I'm always looking for improvement!**


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